Document management system

ABSTRACT

A method for storing, organizing and providing remote electronic access to documents. A cover sheet including a standard set of identification data characterizing each document is developed and stored. A digital version of each document is created and stored by scanning each contract. Each digital version includes a scanned image and a searchable text file, wherein the text is overlaid with the image. An index of bookmarks identifying sections of the digital version of each document is generated. Selected fields of information are captured from the digital version of the document. The documents are organized and cross-referenced in a database that includes the captured information and additional information related to each document. Designated parties are alerted of critical dates associated with each document. Remote electronic access to the documents is provided over the internet.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and system for storing,organizing and providing remote access to documents over the Internet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Computers provide access to stored documents that otherwise would beimpossible or impractical to obtain. For example, computers canmanipulate data and carry out processes that may be possible for peopleto carry out but could require extended periods of time, such as on theorder of years or a life time, to carry out. Alternatively, dozens ofpeople would be required to carry out the functions.

One example of a process that can be carried out quickly with a computerincludes word-processing. Changing the text of a document with a wordprocessor eliminates the need for retyping an entire document.Additionally, computers make it possible to search for the location of asingle word in the text of document or collection of documents. Tosearch each word of a document or documents that could include thousandsof pages and perhaps millions of words would be impossible for allpractical purposes. One person may not be able to carry out such a taskin a lifetime or many people would need to spend long periods of timecarrying out such a task.

Other processes that computers can carry out include maintaininginventory, on-line business transactions, such as auctions, andmathematical modeling. Just as with the text searching function, whileit may be possible for people to perform these functions, the computermakes such activities practical by carrying them out in short periods oftime. Actually, many if not most of the functions performed by desktopcomputers would be just as impractical or impossible as larger complexdescribed above.

With respect to on-line activities, the Internet comprises a vast numberof computers and computer networks that are interconnected throughcommunication links. The interconnected computers exchange informationusing various services, such as electronic mail, Gopher, and the WorldWide Web (“WWW”). The WWW service allows a server computer system (i.e.,Web server or Web site) to send graphical Web pages of information to aremote client computer system. The remote client computer system canthen display the Web pages. Each resource (e.g., computer or Web page)of the WWW is uniquely identifiable by a Uniform Resource Locator(“URL”). To view a specific Web page, a client computer system specifiesthe URL for that Web page in a request (e.g., a hypertext TransferProtocol (“HTTP”) request). The request is forwarded to the Web serverthat supports that Web page. When that Web server receives the request,it sends that Web page to the client computer system. When the clientcomputer system receives that Web page, it typically displays the Webpage using a browser. A browser is a special-purpose application programthat effects the requesting of Web pages and the displaying of Webpages.

Currently, Web pages are typically defined using hypertext MarkupLanguage (“HTML”). HTML provides a standard set of tags that define howa Web page is to be displayed. When a user indicates to the browser todisplay a Web page, the browser sends a request to the server computersystem to transfer to the client computer system an HTML document thatdefines the Web page. When the requested HTML document is received bythe client computer system, the browser displays the Web page as definedby the HTML document. The HTML document contains various tags thatcontrol the displaying of text, graphics, controls, and other features.The HTML document may contain URLs of other Web pages available on thatserver computer system or other server computer systems.

Although computers can greatly facilitate many tasks, the computersrequire programming and input. With text searching functions, unless thetext is accurately input and a search engine available, the computer maybe useless. Tools that make the computer useful are as essential as thecomputer itself.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to organizing and providing access todocuments in a way that greatly facilitates storage and organization ofthe documents and information concerning and contained in the documents.Additionally, the present invention provides users access to thedocuments that far surpasses known systems and methods.

In accomplishing the above and other objects and advantages, the presentinvention provides a method for storing, organizing and providing remoteelectronic access to documents. A cover sheet including a standard setof identification data characterizing each document is stored. A digitalversion of each contract is created and stored by scanning eachdocument. Each digital version includes a scanned image and a searchablea text file. The text is overlaid with the image. An index of bookmarksidentifying sections of the digital version of each document isgenerated. Selected fields of information are captured from the digitalversion of the document. The documents are organized andcross-referenced in a database comprising the captured information andadditional information related to each document. Alerts are generatedand sent to designated parties reminding them of critical datesassociated with each document. Remote electronic access to the documentsis provided over the Internet. One particular embodiment provides amethod for storing, organizing and providing remote electronic access tocontracts.

Additionally, the present invention provides a computer program productfor performing a process of storing, organizing and providing remoteelectronic access to documents. The computer program product includes acomputer readable medium and computer program instructions, recorded onthe computer readable medium and executable by a processor. Theinstructions develop and store a cover sheet including a standard set ofidentification data characterizing each document, and create and store adigital version of each contract by scanning each document. Each digitalversion includes a scanned image and a searchable a text file. The textis overlaid with the image. The instructions also generate an index ofbookmarks identifying sections of the digital version of each documentand capture selected fields of information from the digital version ofthe document. Additionally, the instructions organize andcross-reference the documents in a database that includes the capturedinformation and additional information related to each document.Furthermore, the instructions generate alerts to designated parties ofcritical dates associated with each document and provide remoteelectronic access to the document over the Internet.

Furthermore, the present invention relates to a system for performing aprocess for storing, organizing and providing remote electronic accessto documents. The system includes a processor operable to executecomputer program instructions and a memory operable to store computerprogram instructions executable by the processor. The instructionsdevelop and store a cover sheet including a standard set ofidentification data characterizing each document and create and store adigital version of each contract by scanning each document. Each digitalversion includes a scanned image and searchable a text file. The text isoverlaid with the image. The instructions also generate an index ofbookmarks identifying sections of the digital version of each documentand capture selected fields of information from the digital version ofthe document. Additionally, the instructions organize andcross-reference the documents in a database that includes the capturedinformation and additional information related to each document.Furthermore, the instructions generate alerts to designated parties ofcritical dates associated with each document and provide remoteelectronic access to the document over the Internet.

Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomereadily apparent by those skilled in the art from a review of thefollowing detailed description. The detailed description shows anddescribes preferred embodiments of the invention, simply by way ofillustration of the best mode contemplated of carrying out the presentinvention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other anddifferent embodiments and its several details are capable ofmodifications in various obvious respects, without departing from theinvention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are illustrative innature and not restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed incolor. Copies of this patent or patent application publication withcolor drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon requested andpayment of the necessary fee.

Objects and advantages of the present invention will be more clearlyunderstood when considered in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a coversheet according to thepresent invention;

FIGS. 2-33 represent web pages that illustrate aspects of a documentmanagement system according to one embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 34 represents a block diagram that illustrates aspects of acomputer system according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention facilitates document management and access to anunrivaled and heretofore unknown degree. The management and access ismade possible by the process for handling the documents and associateddata according to the present invention. Advantageously, the presentinvention is applicable to management of a wide variety of documenttypes. The broad application of the present invention stems in part fromprocess steps that can be sufficiently generic that they can be appliedto many types of documents. Another advantage of the system and processare their flexibility and capacity for customization, which can permitthe present invention to be tailored to particular types of documents.While particular aspects of the present invention may be discussed belowin relation to contract management and access, it should be kept in mindthat the present invention may be applied to other documents. Of course,since just about any agreement can be considered to be a contract, evenwhen only considering contracts, the present invention can be used toorganize leases, employment contracts, purchasing agreements, permits,articles of incorporation, and any other type of agreement.

An embodiment of a method according to the present invention starts withdeveloping and storing a cover sheet that includes a standard set ofidentifying data characterizing each document. The cover sheet may becustomized for the particular type of documents being handled. Forexample, if the method is being used for contracts, the cover sheetcould be include information such as contract type, contracting site,contracting department, contracting entity, responsible parties,authorized users and/or any other information.

To facilitate storage of the coversheet, a list of alternatives may bedeveloped for each piece of information in the coversheet. Eachalternative may be assigned a number. A coversheet entry form may bedeveloped that includes each piece of information and the alternatives.The coversheet can then be generated by a user indicating whichalternative relates to each document. The user may perform this actionby circling a number, checking a box, filling in a space or throughanother action. By generating the coversheet in this manner and having auser complete the coversheet as described, the coversheet may bescanned, greatly facilitating the process. In may be desirable that afew of the scanned coversheet data be compared with the scannedcoversheets and/or with the actual documents to verify accuracy of thescanned information as well as the information entered by the user onthe coversheet.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a coversheet according to the presentinvention. As FIG. 1 shows, a coversheet may include a plurality ofcategories with a plurality of options under each category. The exampleof a cover sheet shown in FIG. 1 relates to contracts. In thisembodiment, a user could circle the relevant option under each category.Other embodiments could include a sheet with a plurality of bubbles thata user could fill in, similar to a standardized test. Any form could beutilized. Typically, the form is machine readable to enhance theautomation of the process. Naturally, if the documents are other thancontracts, the categories could differ from those shown in FIG. 1.However, even if the documents are contracts, the categories coulddiffer.

This is one of the great advantages of the present invention. For assoon as the coversheet is created and stored, important data concerningeach document will be present in a computer memory. To begin the processof organizing the documents and the associated data, each document maybe assigned a document number by a computer being utilized for theprocess. The coversheet data as well as later entered data can beassociated with the number to facilitate access to the documents.Additionally, each document can be cross-referenced with the coversheetdata as described below.

Furthermore, after entry of the coversheet information, the computerbeing utilized can search databases of additional information for eachelement that constitutes the coversheet. For example, if the document isa contract and the responsible party is one element that the coversheetincludes, then the computer could retrieve additional previously storedinformation concerning that party and associate the additionalinformation with the document record. In the case of a responsibleparty, the additional information could include an electronic mailaddress, a street address, a telephone number, and/or any other piece ofinformation.

After the process of automatically entering the coversheet data, thedocuments may be scanned. Scanning the documents permits a digitalversion of each document to be created. Each digital version includes ascanned image of the document such that the actual appearance of eachdocument is captured. Also, after each document is scanned, a searchabletext file is created and overlaid with the image. This may be carriedout utilizing Adobe Capture 3.0, available from Adobe Corporation. Inthis way, a user may search the text of the document and have thelocation of the text indicated on the scanned image. This can greatlyfacilitate use of the present invention and retrieval of information.

After scanning of a document, at least one bookmark may be generated tofacilitate searching of the information in the digital version of thedocuments. The scanned document may be automatically analyzed togenerate an index. Bookmark locations may be identified by a number ofdifferent criteria. Typically, the criteria are selected to increase theprobability that the occurrence of the criteria will correspond to thelocation of a section where it would be desirable to have a bookmark.For example, bookmark criteria could include changes in font, changes infont size or style, the beginning of a new paragraph or any otherdesired element. This may also be carried out utilizing Adobe Capture3.0 available from Adobe Corporation. The processing carried out withthis program may be enhanced through manual input and editing to create,delete, and edit bookmarks.

The bookmarks may be identified by the text that occurs in the locationwhere the criteria is identified. In other words, if the criterion is afont change, then the first word or few words beginning at the fontchange may be used to identify the bookmark. After identification, thebookmarks may be reviewed to determine their accuracy in terms ofplacement and/or any other basis. Bookmarks may also be deleted. Forexample, perhaps every term defined in a “definitions” section of acontract is identified as a bookmark. However, it may be desired to onlyidentify the certain definitions in the document index. Therefore, someterms may be deleted. Additionally, the criteria may identify locationsin a document that do not correspond to locations where it is desired tohave a bookmark. These locations may also be deleted from the index.

In the case of a contract, different sections of the contract may form abookmark location. Other documents would have bookmarks corresponding todifferent sections. After creation of the index, the bookmarks may bedisplayed with a document or alone. However they are displayed, thebookmarks may provide hyperlinks to the locations in the document thatthey correspond to. This will be discussed in greater detail below.

After generating bookmarks, information may be captured from the digitalversion of a document. If information is captured, the informationcaptured can depend upon the nature of the document. For example, in thecontext of a contract, the names of the parties to the contract, thedate of the contract and the term are examples of information that maybe captured. Information captured from the digital version of a documentmay provide a means of cross-referencing and searching the document. Bysearching existing databases of vendors, for example, the informationcaptured from the digital version may be linked to further information.Along these lines, additional information about a vendor could beaccessed as described below.

Once the document coversheet is developed and stored, the digitalversion of the document is created, the documents may be organized andcross-referenced in a database. In the context of contracts, informationassociated with the contracts can include the reference number,contracting party, vendor, contract date, contract expiration date,department, contract type, contracting site, responsible party, partiesauthorized to have remote electronic access to the document, contractsignatory, contracting group, contract value, contract status, contractcritical dates, and/or assets related to contract. Of course, additionalor other information related to the contracts may be included in thedatabase. In the context of other documents, the information may change.However, the information and descriptions thereof may be substituted forthe information that may be related to contracts.

Regardless of the nature of the documents and the information anddescriptions, cross-referencing of the documents can permit location ofrelated documents. For example, the vendor name listed for a contractcould provide a link to all contracts for that vendor. Other informationmay also be linked to a document. For contracts, other information thatthe contracts could be cross-referenced by could include notesconcerning the contracts, documents related to a contract, contact orother information for a party to the contract, critical dates, assetsrelated to a contract, selected terms of the contract, and/or any otherinformation. The other information linked to a contract could itself belinked to further information that the contracts may or may not becross-referenced by. Examples of further information can include othercontracts related to an asset, other contracts with a correspondingcritical date, information characterizing a linked asset, and/or anyother information.

The documents may be further linked to additional information regardingthe documents and/or information associated with the documents may befurther linked to additional information. For example, in the context ofcontracts, the contracts may be linked to vendor information. Asdescribed below in greater detail, if accessing a contract provides thename of the vendor or a link to the vendor, the vendor name could thenprovide a link to contact information for the vendor. Cross-linking thedocuments in a number of ways, such as through related informationpermits the present invention to provide unparalleled access to thedocuments.

With respect to contracts or any other documents that have related timeand/or date, the present invention can generate alerts to designatedusers. The dates may be captured from the document when scanned orentered manually. Then, the system captures the date and automaticallygenerates alerts to one or more designated users at designatedintervals. In the context of contracts, the expiration date is arelevant date. Alerts of the expiration date may be sent every threemonths for six months prior to expiration and then every day for thefinal week. Of course, any interval may be utilized with any associatedcritical date.

Acquisition of the coversheet and document information may take placeanywhere. Typically, the coversheets and documents are acquired at auser's location. The coversheets and documents may be stored on acomputer storage device located at the user site. After acquisition, thedocuments and coversheets may be transmitted to a central location forfurther processing. Alternatively, the documents and coversheetinformation may be transmitted via electronic mail as they are acquired.

After acquisition of the documents and coversheets, the associated filesmay be stored on a server. Optical character recognition (OCR) may becarried out on the files as a batch process. Similarly, the files may bebatch processed for bookmark creation. To help verify the OCR and/orbookmark creation, manual verification may be carried out after thebatch processing. The scanned image of the documents may be overlaidwith an OCR file representing the text of the document at this time. TheOCR file typically is a read-only file to avoid alterations to the text,thereby helping to ensure that the OCR file and the image of thedocument correspond.

A significant aspect of the present invention is the provision of remoteaccess to documents. The remote access typically is over the Internet.However, the present invention could provide the remote access throughother means, such as a connection with a user. However, the Internettypically can provide the most easily accessible and widest availableaccess to the documents.

With remote access comes the issue of authorization to the documents.The present invention can limit access to users to provide a variety ofdegrees of access to the documents. The access can be controlled byproviding a list of users and the degree to which each user will haveaccess. The access may be defined by the amount of information a usermay access. The access may also be defined by the ability to edit, printand/or download information. Other examples of factors that can define auser's access to the system can include the ability to attachinformation to a document and/or edit information already attached to adocument record. Additionally, access may be defined by the ability tocreate and edit a document summary page and to make global changes tosummary pages related to all documents. Also, the ability to archive adocument may form one factor that defines access to the system. Stillfurther, the ability to enter and edit critical dates can define accessas can the ability to enter and edit assets attached to a document. Theability to create, alter, and/or delete a vendor and/or vendorinformation can define access. Moreover, the ability to be named as aresponsible party related to a document can be a factor in defining thedegree of user access. Furthermore, access can be defined by the abilityto create, edit and/or delete users. While any one or more of the aboveelements may be utilized to define the degree of access a user will haveto a system, any other factor may also be employed.

To control access to the documents that are managed by the system of thepresent invention, a user typically will be required to present apassword to access the system. Users may also have a user name that theymay be required to present. A user will first direct a web browser tothe URL for a site that provides access to the system according to thepresent invention. Typically, the access site will present the user witha plurality of options. For example, the access site may also beaccessible by non-authorized users for the purpose of obtaininginformation about the system.

When authorized users arrive at the access site, the access site mayinclude spaces for entry of the user name and password. Alternatively,the access site may provide a link to a login site, a pop-up window, orany other means that provides a login opportunity. In any of thesecases, a user will type in the password and possibly user name as well.

After verifying the user's password and possibly user name correspond toan authorized user, the system will determine the degree of accessassociated with the user. Some embodiments of the invention will thenpresent authorized users with a selection screen that permits the userto select various options by providing links to sites such as a libraryof the documents being handled for the user, a communication program,and a workflow manager that permits exchange of documents for review andcomment. FIG. 2 provides an example of a selection screen. The workflowmanager will be discussed in greater detail below.

Upon selecting the library of documents, such as by clicking a mousebutton when the cursor is over the appropriate active link, the systemwill display a document filter page. FIG. 3 provides an example of adocument filter page. While the document filter page shown in FIG. 3relates a system for managing contracts, the same page may be alteredwhen dealing with other documents that have other associated attributes.

The document filter page can include one or more pull down menus and/orone or more boxes for entering search terms. The pull down menus mayinclude options that form categories on the cover sheet. For example,the document filter page shown in FIG. 3 includes pull down menus forcontracting entity, contracting site, department, and contract type.Each of these categories could be on the coversheet. Each pull downmenu, when pulled down, could display all of the options for eachcategory. For example, if the contracts were contracts of a hospital,the “department” pull down menu could display all departments, such ascardiology, emergency room, admissions, and so on. If other documentsare being handled, other pull down menus with other options may beutilized.

Selecting one of the members on a pull down menu can display alldocuments that correspond to the particular member selected. Forexample, every contract relating to a particular department may bedisplayed if a particular department is selected. In some cases, a usermay desire to make a selection from more than one pull down menu to findparticular documents. The present invention permits this to be carriedout.

In addition to searching by document attributes, the present inventionpermits searching documents by certain keywords. The keywords could beused to search for words occurring in the text of the alternativeslisted in the pull down menu options. The keyword search could beutilized in place of or in addition to the document attribute pull downmenus.

In addition to searching for documents by attribute and/or attributekeyword, the present invention can also permit searching for documentsby keywords that occur in the text of the documents. The lower half ofthe document filter web page shown in FIG. 3 includes a box for entry oftext for a keyword search. As can be seen in FIG. 3, in the context ofcontracts, contract and vendors represent two options where a keywordsearch may be carried out. The number of documents revealed by a keywordsearch may be varied. The document filter web page shown in FIG. 3includes a pull down menu for specifying the number of documents akeyword search will reveal. The maximum number of documents pulled up bya keyword search may be indicated in other ways, such as by clickablebuttons such as those shown for designating whether contracts or vendorsare to be searched in document filter web page illustrated in FIG. 3.

Searching may also be carried out using word variants. If it is desiredto offer such an option, the document filter web page shown in FIG. 3can include a box to check, as shown. The present invention may alsooffer the possibility for conducting a “fuzzy” search, which can expanda search to similarly sounding words or similarly spelled words or otheralternatives. If it is desired to offer a fuzzy search option, thedocument filter web page shown in FIG. 3 can include a box to check, asshown.

Regardless of the type of search being carried out, the web page mayinclude an active “search” button for a user to click on to initiate asearch. The document filter web page represented in FIG. 3 includes sucha button.

In addition to displaying search options, the search page may alsodisplay a pane that includes a menu of options for displaying documents.The menu may be expandable. The cross-linking of the documents thatoccurred during the storage of the documents and document informationmay be employed with the display menu.

FIG. 3 illustrates a display menu for a system for dealing withcontracts, in particular. The menu shown in FIG. 3 includes options todisplay contracts based upon various characteristics. The search optionsin the page shown in FIG. 3 include contract, party, location, dates,critical issues, critical list, and status. The list also includes otheroptions that do not relate to searching the contracts. These include newcontract, vendor directory and administrative options. Clicking on oneof the options can display all contracts with the selected attribute.

Under each of the search options shown in FIG. 3, a number of suboptionsmay be included. For example, the contract option may include contractnumber and contract type. Clicking on contract number will result in thesystem displaying all contracts by number. FIG. 4 illustrates a web pageshowing such results. Clicking on a contract number results in displayof information regarding a particular contract as discussed below ingreater detail. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the pane with the searchoptions will still be displayed when viewing contracts or otherdocuments of a particular type.

On the other hand, clicking on contract type results in the display ofall of the types of contract that the particular user has entered into.FIG. 5 shows an example of contract types. Clicking on one of thecontract types will expand the particular type to list all of thecontracts of that type. Once all contracts of a particular type havebeen displayed, similar to the list in the web page shown in FIG. 4, aparticular contract may be selected for viewing.

As shown in FIG. 6, the “party” search option may include a number ofsuboptions for searching. These can include signatory, other signatory,responsible party, and vendor or other party. Similar to contract typediscussed above, clicking on one of the suboptions will result in thesystem displaying contracts corresponding to the suboption. Along theselines, FIG. 6 illustrates a web page showing all contracts forparticular signatories. In this case, the signatory could be clicked onto reveal all contracts that the signatory has signed or also has anyother connection to. Along these lines, a signatory could be aresponsible party for a contract whether or not the party has signed thecontract. Clicking on a particular contract shown in FIG. 6 will lead toviewing information about the particular contract.

Listing of contracts as shown in FIG. 6 can also include informationconcerning the contracts. Along these lines, the web page shown in FIG.6 has been set up to display signatory, contracting entity, vendor orother party, contract number assigned by the system, nature of thecontract, contracting department, original date, and expiration date.Any other information could additionally or alternatively be displayedon this page. For example, a subset of the information shown in FIG. 6could be displayed.

As shown in FIG. 6, any web page displayed by the present invention mayinclude navigation aids, such as those shown at the top of the page, togo to the previous page, the next page, to expand or collapse the page,or to go back to the filter page to search. Of course, other links maybe included. Similarly, the search option page may include links to helpinformation, a workflow manager discussed below in greater detail, apolicy statement, or any other element.

Another category under the party search option is “other signatory”.This option can list contracts by a second signatory to a contract. Thecontracts may be displayed and accessed similar to the contracts shownin FIG. 6, as described above, including the additional informationshown in FIG. 6. FIG. 7 represents a web page displaying contracts by“other signatory”.

Additionally, the party search option may include the possibility todisplay contracts by responsible party. As discussed above with respectto the coversheet, one or more people may be named as responsible partyfor a contract. The responsible party may differ from the signatory.Similar to the display of contracts for a particular signatory or othersignatory, a responsible party may be listed and all contracts for whichthat party is responsible also displayed. Alternatively, as shown inFIG. 8, the responsible parties may be listed without the contractsbeing listed. The display of contracts in FIGS. 6 and 7 could be similarto that shown in FIG. 8, in that only the party could be displayedrather than displaying all contracts. Clicking on the name of a party oran element adjacent the name of the party can result in the contractsbeing listed under the name of the responsible party. Additionalinformation may be displayed for each contract as shown in FIG. 8. Forexample, the web page shown in FIG. 8 displays contracting entity,vendor or other party, contract number assigned by the system, nature ofthe contract, contracting department, original date, and expirationdate. The total number of contracts for each responsible party may bedisplayed independent of whether all contracts are listed for aparticular party. Any other information could additionally oralternatively be displayed on this page. Clicking on a contract canresult in the display of information concerning that contract asdescribed below in greater detail.

Another category included under “party” that contracts may be displayedby is vendor or other party to a contract. Clicking on “vendor” (theother party in the context of contracts) can result in the systemdisplaying a list of vendors, as shown in the web page illustrated inFIG. 9. Each vendor may be expanded by clicking on the vendor or on abutton, such as the arrows shown in FIG. 9, similar to the responsibleparties shown in FIG. 8 and discussed above. Display of members of thesubcategory of “vendor” could also result in all contracts for aparticular vendor being displayed under each vendor. Additionalinformation displayed for the contracts as shown in FIG. 9 may includecontracting entity, vendor or other party, contract number assigned bythe system, nature of the contract, contracting department, originaldate, and expiration date. As with the display of contracts discussedabove, other information may additionally or alternatively be displayed.

FIGS. 10-13 illustrate subcategories that may be included under thelocation category found in the search pane. Clicking on any one of thesesubcategories can result in the display of all contracts related to theparticular contracting entity, department, site or group, andinformation relevant to the contracts. Again, rather than requiring theclicking on a link, the contracts may be displayed similar to thedisplay of contracts related to signatories as illustrated in FIG. 6.

Other relevant information with respect to contracts includes associateddates. The dates may be classified in a number of ways. For example, theoriginal date of a contract, the expiration date of a contract,expiration dates that a particular party is responsible for, dates thatcertain contracts may be automatically renewed, and any other possibledates may be used to classify contracts. Other dates may be utilized toclassify other documents. For example, if the present invention wereutilized to organize and provide access to a set of regulations, theeffective date of the regulations could be used.

FIGS. 14-17 illustrate web pages that display contracts by originaldate, expiration date, expiration dates for the user of the system at aparticular time, and the renewal date for those with an automaticrenewal provision, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 14-16, clicking onthe relevant link in the search pane can result in listing contracts bythe relevant date along with additional information, such as contractingentity, vendor or other party, contract number, contract type,contracting department, original date, expiration date, and/or any otherinformation. The date can provide a hyperlink to all contracts havingthe relevant activity on that date. In other words, clicking on a datein the expiration date page shown in FIG. 14 can transport the user to aweb page that lists all contracts expiring on that date. If the contractlisted in the expiration date page were the only contract expiring onthat date, then the date link could transport the user to informationfor that contract rather than a list since the list would only includethat one contract. The web pages shown in FIGS. 14-16 also includehyperlinks to the contracts themselves through the contract numberassigned by the system. FIG. 17 illustrates a web page that listscontracts with autorenewal provisions.

Rather than providing contracts by certain events, the present inventionmay sort and display contracts or other documents by critical issues andassociated dates. FIG. 18 represents an example of a web page that canillustrate critical dates associated with critical issues occurring in atwo-week period of time. The issue represented during the time periodshown in FIG. 18 is a warranty expiration. Clicking on the issue cantransport the user to the relevant portion of the contract. On the otherhand, clicking on the contract number can transport the user to thecontract information page described below in greater detail. Otherissues, including expiration dates could also be displayed as shown inFIG. 18 rather than as represented in FIGS. 14-17.

The critical issues page may also include active hyperlinks to aparticular month, as shown in FIG. 18. Additionally, rather than displaya two-week period, the page may display one day, one week, one month, orany other time period. Along these lines, FIG. 19 represents a web pagethat displays dates. By clicking on one of the dates or the button nextto a date the system can display all critical issues for a particulardate. As with the web page shown in FIG. 18, the issue and the contractnumber may provide hyperlinks to additional information.

The “status” option in the search pane can result in the presentinvention finding contracts having certain status. Examples of statuscan include active, expired, and archived. Once a user clicks on the“status” option, the system will display a list of various options forcontract status, such as is shown in the web page represented in FIG.20. Clicking on a status will result in the present inventiondetermining and displaying all contracts with the status. The presentinvention may also display information regarding the contracts. Examplesof the information can include contracting entity, vendor or otherparty, contract number, contract type, contracting department, originaldate, expiration date, and/or any other information. Clicking on acontract number or name or an associated button could transport the userinformation regarding the particular contract. In any display ofinformation associated with contracts or other documents, clicking on alisted vendor, for example, or other category could transport the userto a page listing all contracts or documents associated with theparticular vendor or other category.

In addition to searching options, the search pane may provide links toother functions. Along these lines, the search pane may provide a linkto an option for creating a new document record. The web page shown inFIG. 21 illustrates web page for creating a “new contract” record. Theweb page represented in FIG. 21 includes a pull down menu for selectinga contracting entity. The new document record page may include means forentering all relevant information, such as text entry boxes.Alternatively, the new document record page may include a button such asthe “search” button shown in FIG. 21 that provides a link to one or moreweb pages that permit the user to enter information about the documentrecord. The linked pages may also prompt the user to scan the coversheetor manually enter coversheet data. Furthermore, the linked pages mayprompt the user to scan the new document.

In addition to including a new document record entry option, the searchpane may include links to directories of information, such as the“vendor directory” link shown in FIG. 22. The web page shown in FIG. 22includes an alphabetical link to the vendors. Clicking on a letter orbutton next to the letter will cause the system to list all vendorsbeginning with the relevant letter. Clicking on a vendor can transport auser to a page with information about the vendor, such as is shown inFIG. 23. Of course, in the context of other documents, the directorycould differ. For example, if the present invention were utilized inconnection with a set of regulations, search pane could include a linkto a directory of the regulating bodies.

The web page illustrating specific vendor information shown in FIG. 23includes links to create a new vendor entry, to comments concerning avendor and/or payer, to edit the vendor information, to save vendorinformation, and to delete vendor information. Other links couldalternatively or additionally be included. Other vendor informationcould also alternatively or additionally be included.

Other functions that the search pane can provide links to includeadministrative functions. Examples of administrative functions caninclude adding new users, modifying user access levels, changingpasswords, as well as other functions. FIG. 24 illustrates an example ofa web page for changing a user's password.

As described above, the once the search has revealed a list ofdocuments, clicking on a document will transport a user to a documentsummary page. FIG. 25 illustrates an embodiment of a document summarypage particular to a contract. While the web page shown in FIG. 25 maybe utilized in a system for managing contracts, a similar page may beutilized for other documents. When managing other documents, the titlesfor various pieces of information may change.

A document summary page, such as the page shown in FIG. 25, may includea heading region 100 that includes certain pieces of information. Theheading in the embodiment shown in FIG. 25 is arranged at the top of thepage. However, the information in the heading could be arranged anywhereon the page, such as on the side, or at the bottom as a footer.

The heading may include any selected pieces of information. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 25, the heading includes the contract number,the contracting entity for the user, vendor or party that the contractwas made with, the contract type, and the time period left on thecontract. The heading region may also include links to on-line help, toa printer friendly version that includes information concerning thedocument as discussed below in greater detail, and to a version of thesummary page that permits editing of the information. The summary regioncan also display the status of the document. This is particularlyrelevant for any time sensitive documents, such as contracts,warranties, and regulations, among others.

Entries in the heading may provide hyperlinks to additional information.Along these lines, the vendor name may provide a hyperlink to othercontracts associated with the vendor. Alternatively, the vendor namecould provide a link to information about the vendor, such as contactinformation. Similarly, the user contracting entity and contract typecould provide links to other contracts having the same user contractingentity and contract type.

Typically, the document summary page includes a number of tabs 102 thatcontrol the information displayed in a document information pane. Thecontents of the document information pane may change, depending uponwhich tab is selected. However, the heading information may remainconstant to provide a reference to the user.

Also, the descriptive words on each tab may change, depending upon thetype of documents being managed. Along these lines, the tabs for asystem particular to managing contracts may have the headings shown inFIG. 25. These headings include “cover sheet”, “contract & attachments”,“contract notes”, “critical dates”, “asset log”, and “key terms”. Theinformation that may be included in each of these headings will bediscussed below in greater detail.

The “cover sheet” tab can result in display of the information shown inFIG. 25. While this information may include some of the information inthe cover sheet discussed above for the cover sheet described above thatmay be stored upon the creation of a new document record; it can includethe same, less, or more information. FIG. 25 illustrates an embodimentof a cover sheet tab that can include contracting department, originaldate, expiration date, original expiration date, original term, usersignatory, title of user signatory, responsible parties names andtitles, description of the contract, contracting site, contractinggroup, other signatory, title of the other signatory, product related tothe contract, and value/rate. The information on the cover sheet tab maydiffer for different types of documents. Also, even for contracts, theinformation may differ. As FIG. 25 shows, the system may not include anentry for every one of the pieces of information on the cover sheet. Thepieces of information and/or the entries corresponding thereto mayprovide hyperlinks to additional information as well as to othercontracts as described above with respect to the heading region.

As with any of the tabs, clicking on the “EDIT” button in the headingregion may provide a user with editing capabilities to alter any of theinformation in the “cover sheet” information pane. Only users withauthorization to edit will see the “EDIT” button. For other users thebutton will be hidden. Information displayed as a result of clicking onany of the tabs may be editable if desired.

Clicking on the “contract & attachments”, or more generically, “document& attachments”, tab can result in display of a document information panethat includes the information shown in FIG. 26. The “contract &attachments” tab typically will include a hyperlink to the originaldocument. Clicking on this link will launch both the image copy and thedigital version of the document. The form of the document may vary,depending upon the embodiment. Typically, the original document is a“pdf” file readable by Adobe Acrobat versoin 3.0 or higher availablefrom Adobe Corporation.

The “contract & attachments” tab may also result in the display ofaddenda, exhibits, attachments, and/or any other material to a document.Any desired material could be attached to a document. Typically, theattachment names are hyperlinks to the attachment. In the EDIT mode,attachments may be added to the tab. The attachments could be in theform of another document that is scanned in or a file on a disk, forexample.

The “contract & attachments” tab may provide a button, such as the “makea template” button shown in FIG. 26 that can permit an existing documentrecord to serve as a template for creating another document record. Thiscan expedite and simplify the process of creating document records. If anew document record would share much information with an existingrecord, there is no reason to require the reentry of all information forthe new document record.

Clicking on the link to the original document will launch both the imagecopy of the document and the digital version of the document. FIG. 27provides an example of a scanned image of a document, including a listof bookmarks. Clicking on a bookmark will transport the user to thecorresponding region of the text. If the document is a pdf file, all ofthe search, navigation and manipulation tools available in Adobe Acrobatmay be utilized. Since these tools are generally known, they will not bediscussed in greater detail herein.

FIG. 28 illustrates an embodiment of a document notes, specifically a“contract notes”, information pane. This pane can include links to anynotes that may have been created and attached to a document record. Thenotes may be listed in any order. For example, the embodiment shown inFIG. 28 lists the notes chronologically. The notes could also be listedby creator. Both the date and the creator can provide hyperlinks to anote or to a list of notes. The note could also have an associated titlethat could be listed and provide a hyperlink to the note. Additionally,the date, creator, or other identifying element could provide a link toa list of notes created on the same date, by the same creator or havingthe other element in common, respectively. The “document notes”information pane may also provide a link to create a new note.

Critical issues, such as dates, associated with a document may be listedin a “critical dates” information pane by clicking on the “criticaldates” tab. FIG. 29 illustrates an embodiment of such a pane. As FIG. 29illustrates, the critical dates pane may list the issue, the associateddate, the page of a document relevant to the date, and a link to therelevant language on the relevant page. Alternatively, the link could beto a window that displays relevant language from a document. The issuesmay be listed alphabetically, chronologically, in order of appearance ina document, or otherwise. The text describing the issue could provide ahyperlink to the relevant portion of the document or to a window asdescribed above. The text could also provide a link to all contactshaving a similar issue. Similarly, the date could provide a link to therelevant portion of the document, a window with relevant portions of thedocument, or to a list of all contracts with critical issues on thatdate.

Another tab on the document page could provide information concerningassets related to a document. FIG. 30 illustrates an embodiment of arelated “asset log” information pane. Assets may be listedalphabetically by name, numerically by serial number, by address, bycontact, or otherwise. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 30, the listingof assets may include asset name and description, asset serial number,asset location, contact information for a party somehow related to theasset, and comments. Each of these headings and/or the information foran asset listed in the heading can provide a link to additionalinformation concerning the asset, to contracts related to the asset, toother assets at the location, to other assets having a common contact,to additional information about an asset or contact, to a relevantportion of the document, or any other information. As with the documentnote, the asset log could include a clickable button for creating a newasset record to be attached to a document.

Another tab that may be included on a document information page caninclude a “key terms” tab. The key terms tab can provide a pane that candisplay selected portions of a document. This can avoid the necessity toretrieve that entire document since the terms may be cut and paste intothe key terms pane. The key terms pane may include a link to thedocument and to the location of the particular text. The edit functioncan permit a user to add terms to the document record.

The printer friendly version can provide access to a single pagecontaining the information stored on the “summary sheet”, “contract andattachments”, “critical dates”, “asset log”, and “key terms” informationpanes for easy viewing and printing. The information that is included onthe printer friendly page can vary, depending upon the system. FIG. 33represents an embodiment of a printer friendly version of informationrelated to a document that is a contract.

As referred to above, a system according to the present invention mayinclude a workflow manager. The workflow manager can permit users toexchange documents in the process of being drafted. The users caninclude comments on the documents and then forward the comments to otherusers. FIG. 32 illustrates an embodiment of a workflow manager web page.The workflow manager page shown in FIG. 32 includes a date that actionwas taken and a listing of topic. The workflow manager can also includelinks to all documents being handled through the workflow manager,documents by author, documents by category, alternate name, and reviewstatus of documents. Clicking on one of the links transports a user to alist of all documents or all documents organized as indicated by thelink. The topic and/or date shown in FIG. 32 may also provide links topages of documents or actions by date, to the particular documentreferred to by the topic, or to a page that includes informationregarding the status of the review, including current, prior and futurereviewers, originator of the review, category of the document, and/orany other information. A page concerning a particular review may alsoinclude a link to permit attachment of other documents or information ofany kind.

Another significant advantage of the present invention relates to theability to track documents by any relevant characteristic, making itpossible to determine the percentage of documents for a particularentity.

An exemplary block diagram of a document storing, organizing and accesssystem 100, according to the present invention, is shown in FIG. 33. Adocument storing, organizing and access system 100 is typically aprogrammed general-purpose computer system, such as a personal computer,workstation, server system, and minicomputer or mainframe computer. Adocument storing, organizing and access system 100 includes processor(CPU) 102, input/output circuitry 104, network adapter 106, and memory108. CPU 102 executes program instructions in order to carry out thefunctions of the present invention. Typically, CPU 102 is amicroprocessor, such as an INTEL PENTIUM® processor, but may also be aminicomputer or mainframe computer processor. Input/output circuitry 104provides the capability to input data to, or output data from, computersystem 100. For example, input/output circuitry may include inputdevices, such as keyboards, mice, touchpads, trackballs, scanners, etc.,output devices, such as video adapters, monitors, printers, etc., andinput/output devices, such as, modems, etc. Network adapter 106interfaces transaction processing system 100 with network 110. Network110 may be any standard local area network (LAN) or wide area network(WAN), such as Ethernet, Token Ring, the Internet, or a private orproprietary LAN/WAN.

Memory 108 stores program instructions that are executed by, and datathat are used and processed by, CPU 102 to perform the functions of thepresent invention. Memory 108 may include electronic memory devices,such as random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmableread-only memory (PROM), electrically erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EEPROM), flash memory, etc., and electromechanical memory, suchas magnetic disk drives, tape drives, optical disk drives, etc., whichmay use an integrated drive electronics (IDE) interface, or a variationor enhancement thereof, such as enhanced IDE (EIDE) or ultra directmemory access (UDMA), or a small computer system interface (SCSI) basedinterface, or a variation or enhancement thereof, such as fast-SCSI,wide-SCSI, fast and wide-SCSI, etc, or a fiber channel-arbitrated loop(FC-AL) interface.

Memory 108 includes a plurality of blocks of data, such as cover sheetblock 112, document digital version block 114, and bookmarks block 116,and a plurality of blocks of program instructions, such as processingroutines 118 and operating system 120. Document digital version block114 stores a plurality of scanned documents and searchable text filesthat have been received by the document storing, organizing and accesssystem 100. Cover sheet block 112 stores a plurality of cover sheetsthat may be relevant to one or more documents received by the documentstoring, organizing and access system. Bookmarks block 118 stores aplurality of bookmarks that may be used to identify portions of thedigital versions of the documents. Processing routines 118 are softwareroutines that implement the processing performed by the presentinvention. Operating system 120 provides overall system functionality.

It is important to note that while the present invention has beendescribed in the context of a fully functioning data processing system,those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the processes ofthe present invention are capable of being distributed in the form of acomputer readable medium of instructions and a variety of forms and thatthe present invention applies equally regardless of the particular typeof signal bearing media actually used to carry out the distribution.Examples of computer readable media include recordable-type media suchas floppy disc, a hard disk drive, RAM, and CD-ROM's, as well astransmission-type media, such as digital and analog communicationslinks.

Among the advantages of the present invention in the context of contractare that it permits managing and monitoring of contract performance.Also, the present invention can help to reduce the cost of doingbusiness and improve control of business. Additionally, through thepresent invention, contracts or other documents may be tracked andaccessed anywhere that Internet access exists. In the context ofcontracts, the present invention can permit standardization of vendorcontracts. Through the creation of a contract or other documentdatabase, the present invention can assist in auditing the status ofcontracts, record activity to a particular contract or contracts, andpermit unparalleled access to information. Furthermore, through thecontrol of information that the present invention provides, economies ofscale may be realized through consolidation of vendors and efficienciesof internal audits may be improved by ready access to information thatdid not exist in the past. Still further, the present invention canprevent payment on expired contracts, realize the value of warrantiesand service agreements and reduce the cost of internal audits.

The foregoing description of the invention illustrates and describes thepresent invention. Additionally, the disclosure shows and describes onlythe preferred embodiments of the invention, but as aforementioned, it isto be understood that the invention is capable of use in various othercombinations, modifications, and environments and is capable of changesor modifications within the scope of the inventive concept as expressedherein, commensurate with the above teachings, and/or the skill orknowledge of the relevant art. The embodiments described hereinabove arefurther intended to explain best modes known of practicing the inventionand to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention insuch, or other, embodiments and with the various modifications requiredby the particular applications or uses of the invention. Accordingly,the description is not intended to limit the invention to the formdisclosed herein. Also, it is intended that the appended claims beconstrued to include alternative embodiments.

1. A method for storing, organizing and providing remote electronicaccess to contracts, the method comprising: storing a customized set ofidentification data for characterizing a set of contracts, wherein eachidentification data in the customized set of identification datacorresponds to contract information; converting a specific contract anda customized document profile form for the specific contract to anelectronic file, wherein the electronic file includes an image of thespecific contract; processing the electronic file, wherein a searchabletext file of the specific contract is overlaid with the image of thespecific contract; reading the customized document profile form, whereinthe customized document profile form includes the customized set ofidentification data for selection; determining whether at least oneidentification data is selected on the customized document profile form;if so, creating a document record for the specific contract thatincludes the specific information corresponding to the at least oneidentification data in a database of document records for contracts: andassociating the electronic file with the document record in thedatabase: and limiting access to the set of contracts and specificinformation related to the set of contracts; wherein the access islimited bared on an amount of information that a user may access: anability to print at least a one of the contracts in the set of contractsand the specific information for the at least one of the contracts; anability to attach and edit the specific information for the at least oneof the contracts; and an ability to create, edit or delete a user. 2.The method according to claim 1, further comprising: assigning thedocument record for the specific contract a reference number.
 3. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the customized set ofidentification data on the document profile form represents contractinformation of a type including a contracting entity type, a contractrelated site type, a contract type, a contract related department type,an authorized users type and a responsible parties type.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising: linking information to thedocument record of the specific contract, the linked informationincluding at least one of: vendor information, notes concerning thecontract, related documents, party information, user selected criticaldates, assets related to the contracts, and selected terms of thecontract.
 5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:limiting access of access of users to the contracts and relatedinformation.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the access isfurther limited is base on an ability to create and edit a contractsummary page for at least a one of the contracts.
 7. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising: searching the database.
 8. Themethod according to claim 1, further comprising providing remote accessto the database.
 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein providingremote access to the contracts comprises: displaying a contractattribute search page comprising lists of alternatives for each type ofidentification data in the customized set of identification data;selecting at least one alternative for each type of identification datain the customized set of identification data; and initiating the search.10. The method according to claim 1, wherein providing remote access tothe contracts comprises: displaying a contract search page comprising acontract text keyword search text entry box; entering text in the textentry box; and initiating the search.
 11. The method according to claim8, wherein providing remote access to the contracts comprises:displaying a contract filter page including a contract attribute searchpage comprising lists alternatives for each member of the standard setof identification data and including a contract search page comprising acontract text keyword search text entry box; selecting at least onealternative for each member of the standard set of identification dataand/or entering text in the text entry box; and initiating the search.12. The method according to claim 8, wherein providing remote access tothe contracts comprises: displaying a list of categories of contractinformation; selecting a category; and displaying contracts that fallwithin the selected category.
 13. The method according to claim 12,further comprising: selecting one of the displayed contracts; anddisplaying information about the selected contract.
 14. The methodaccording to claim 13, wherein the categories of contract informationinclude at least one of: a contract number, a contract type, a contractsignatory, an other signatory, a responsible party, a contract vendor, acontracting entity, a contracting department, a contract site, acontracting group, a contract note original date, a contract expirationdate, expiration of contracts for a specified user, automaticallyrenewing contracts, a critical date, contract status, of and an othercontracting party, wherein all contracts having the same contractinformation for the selected category are displayed.
 15. The methodaccording to claim 14, wherein the displayed information comprises acontract page comprising information from the document record for theselected contract.
 16. The method according to claim 15, wherein thecontract page comprises regions displaying a set of fixed contractsummary information and a changeable set of information, and useractionable regions for changing the changeable information.
 17. Themethod according to claim 16, wherein details regarding information onthe contract page may be accessed through active links on the contractpage, wherein the active links comprise the information of which detailsare sought.
 18. The method according to claim 17, wherein one of thelinks is to the electronic file.
 19. The method according to claim 1,further comprising: predefining a level of access of a user; verifying aname and a password for the user; and permitting the user to access inaccordance with the level of access of the user.
 20. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising: providing information aboutthe specific contract on a single printable page.
 21. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising: generating a new documentrecord for a new contract utilizing the document record as a template.22. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: providingremote electronic access over the internet to a contract beingnegotiated; providing entry of comments concerning the contract by auser; and providing remote electronic access over the internet to acontract commented on by the user.
 23. A computer program product forperforming a process of storing, organizing and providing remoteelectronic access to documents, comprising: a computer readable medium;and computer program instructions, recorded on the computer readablemedium, executable by a processor, for performing the steps of: storinga customized set of identification data for characterizing a set ofcontracts, wherein each identification data in the customized set ofidentification data corresponds to contract information; reading acustomized document profile form for a specific contract, wherein thecustomized document profile form includes the customized set ofidentification data for selection and wherein the customized documentprofile form and the specific contract is converted into an electronicfile; determining whether at least one identification data is selectedon the customized document profile form; if so, creating a documentrecord for the specific contract that includes the specific informationcorresponding to the at least one identification data in a database ofdocument records for contracts; and associating the electronic file withthe document record in the database; and limiting access to the set ofcontracts and specific information related to the set of contracts;wherein the access is limited based on an amount of information that auser may access; an ability to print at least a one of the contracts inthe set of contracts and the specific information for the at least oneof the contracts; an ability to attach and edit the specific informationfor the at least one of the contracts; and an ability to create, edit ordelete a user.
 24. A system for performing a process of for storing,organizing and providing remote electronic access to documents,comprising: a processor operable to execute computer programinstructions; and a memory operable to store computer programinstructions executable by the processor, for performing the steps ofstoring a customized set of identification data for characterizing a setof contracts, wherein each identification data in the customized set ofidentification data corresponds to contract information; reading acustomized document: profile form for a specific contract, wherein thecustomized document profile form includes the customized set ofidentification data for selection and wherein the customized documentprofile form and the specific contract is converted into an electronicfile; determining whether at least one identification data is selectedon the customized document profile form; if so, creating a documentrecord for the specific contract that includes the specific informationcorresponding to the at least one identification data in a database ofdocument records for contracts; and associating the electronic file withthe document record in the database, and limiting access to the set ofcontracts and specific information related to the set of contracts;wherein the access is limited based on an amount of information that auser may access: an ability to print at least a one of the contracts inthe set of contracts and the specific information for the at least oneof the contracts: an ability to attach and edit the specific informationfor the at least one of the contracts: and an ability to create edit ordelete a user.